White Diamond
White Diamond is a Homeworld Gem and leader of the Great Diamond Authority that rules over the Gem race. She holds supreme authority over all Gems, including her fellow Diamonds, and is seen as a being beyond the rest of her kind. White Diamond hadn't left the Gem Homeworld in eons and remained secluded inside her ship until she left Homeworld to help Steven Universe heal the corrupted Gems. After she had taken control of the Crystal Gems along with Blue Diamond and Yellow Diamond, Steven had to change her mind. She made her debut in "Legs From Here to Homeworld". Appearance White Diamond has white spiky hair in a shape similar to a star pentagon and white skin. She is shown to be larger than her fellow Diamonds. Like the other Diamonds, she has diamond-shaped pupils, but hers are white instead of black, and she has large, full, black eyelashes. As shown in the flashback sequence in "Your Mother and Mine" and an official Hot Topic t-shirt[[ 1 ]] , she has long black fingernails. Her gemstone is located on her forehead and is a side view of a round-cut diamond. She wears a long translucent white dress that reaches the floor, shoulder pads, and a pair of intricately detailed dress sandals with high heels. She also wears a cape with black and gray stripes that is lined with glimmering diamond and star designs. White Diamond is unique in that her body constantly radiates a bright light. Due to this (and possibly the brightness of her ship), her gemstone is barely visible, and only her eyes, nostrils, eyebrows, and mouth are visible because they're either black or have black outlines. A drawing by Rebecca Sugar, however, does show the obscured details,[[ 2 ]] as does the Hot Topic t-shirt. Personality Little is known about White Diamond's personality. She is described as being difficult, and that she has a temper that can take a while to cool down. According to Blue Diamond, she has no sense of humor as she was furious of Pink Diamond for calling Pyrite as fool's gold. Upon meeting with Steven, she appeared both calm and understanding, yet curt and dismissive. She greets Steven (as Pink Diamond) warmly and with motherly affection, despite his appearance bearing no resemblance to how Pink Diamond actually looked. In addition, she treats the entire affair with the Earth, including the Rebellion, Pink's faked shattering, and her absence for the last 6,000 years with a mixture of patronization and nonchalance, remarking it all being simply one of "Pink's games" and asks Steven (as Pink) if he "had fun" and "got it out of his system." She interrupts Steven whenever he tries to speak to her, and then immediately sends him away to another room without warning as soon as she is done. White also appears to have a soft spot for Pink. According to Blue, White used to join the rest of the Diamonds in Blue's Pool Chamber and would play games such as the Diamonds guessing what song Pink was singing underwater. Yellow also states that White never lets her or Blue into her ship, but she let in Steven, believing him to Pink. White endearingly gives Steven the nickname "Starlight". According to Yellow Diamond, she never left her ship and never lets anyone in, except Steven/Pink Diamond, so it may be possible that she is a bit reclusive. It is displayed in "Change Your Mind" that White Diamond is an arrogant perfectionist. She claims that Pink Diamond brings out the worst in other Gems and that White herself makes them better by generously "removing their flaws." When White takes control of the Crystal Gems, she tells Steven that "there is nothing to hinder her white light sparkling through them," later saying that they are now "perfect". White Diamond has strict expectations on the way other Gems should behave, and this causes immense pressure that Yellow Diamond says could "crack a Gem." White takes this obsession so far that she breaks down after she becomes emotional, going as far as saying emotions are a flaw. This fact also reveals the biggest flaw in White, a control freak incapable of accepting something different and unique as well as being extreme close-minded outlook. History Ancient History Nothing is known about White Diamond's exact past, but she believed she existed to "make everything better" by imposing a strict system of hierarchies and castes upon the Homeworld empire. Her order persisted unchanged for many thousands of years. White Diamond owned the most colonies at the time of Earth's colonization. According to Blue Diamond, White was once closer to the other Diamonds, even taking part in games that Pink played with them. However, Pink would be locked away in a tower if she were to break one of Homeworld's rules, with White would always be furious with her. After Pink's alleged shattering on Earth, White grew distant from the other Diamonds to the point of never leaving her ship. Around 4,500 Years Ago When Pink Diamond was believed to have been shattered and Earth was no longer deemed to be a viable colony, White left Homeworld and she participated in the Corrupting Light attack that corrupted every Gem on Earth exposed to the attack. After that, she returned to Homeworld and stayed until the dawn of Era 3. "Legs From Here to Homeworld" Steven, the Crystal Gems, and the Diamonds travel to Homeworld to ask White for assistance in healing the Corrupted Gems. Before they even arrived at Homeworld, White appeared to already know that they were coming and that "Pink" was still alive because when they do reach the planet, Homeworld is cheering for the return of Pink Diamond. White sends White Pearl to retrieve Steven, and when she does, White speaks to Steven as if he is Pink. White tells Steven that everyone is so relieved that Pink is alive and that she is relieved her little game is finally over. White then sends Steven to an unknown room. "Familiar" White Diamond is not seen in "Familiar", but is mentioned several times. Steven relates to Pearl how he doesn't think she understands that he's not Pink Diamond, and later tells Yellow Diamond about his conversation with her, to which she remarks that it's incredible to he managed to get in even a few words to her, but laments that she never allows anyone else to see her in spite of Yellow's success as a conqueror. When Steven talks to Blue Diamond, she recalls an incident where Pink named a batch of Pyrite "Fool's Gold", which apparently infuriated White. In Pink Diamond's room, Pearl tells Steven that Pink Diamond used to throw parties for all the Diamonds and their courts to attend, including White. This prompts Steven to don Pink Diamond's outfit and throw a ball for all of the Diamonds, where he plans to persuade White to help heal the corrupted Gems. "Together Alone" White appears once in the episode and is mentioned several times. She appears in Stevens dream, still in her ship and smiling at him. Blue Diamond says that since White might be coming to the Era-3 Ball, everything will have to be perfect. Steven hopes that White will come to the ball, but she does not show up. Instead, White Pearl takes her Diamond's place in observing the event. "Change Your Mind" When Steven and Connie try to escape Homeworld with the help of Blue and Yellow, White Diamond (speaking through White Pearl) tells them that they aren’t going anywhere. She then merges her ship with Pink’s. However, both Blue and Yellow Diamond’s ships, piloted by Bismuth, Lapis, and Peridot, attack her ship and manage to knock it over. Later, Steven, Yellow, and Blue try to convince White to stop her ways and help everybody. White, however, ignores this completely, attacking both Blue and Yellow and turning them into mindless, obedient servants, like her Pearl. She transports Blue and Yellow inside her ship (which merged with hers) and attacks the Crystal Gems. She knocks them off the platform, and Steven drops Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl’s gemstones. While falling, Steven manages to fuse with Amethyst, who then throws him over to Pearl. Steven and Pearl fuse and save Ruby and Sapphire. Steven and Garnet then fuse into Sunstone, but White stomps on them with the leg ship. Sunstone lifts up the foot, however, and attacks the ships. White simply swats them away, and the gems decide they have to fuse into Obsidian. They fuse and attack White, along with Connie, Bismuth, Lapis, and Peridot. They all start destroying the ship, with Obsidian managing to slice off both of the ship’s hands. The Gems unfuse after being smashed against a pillar, and they enter White’s ship through its eye. White asks what Steven is doing and asks if he wants his legs and his planet back. Steven asks what White did to the other Diamonds, but White shushes him. She says that both Yellow and Blue are imperfect due to their light, but she is perfect, due to her having every light in the spectrum. She then says that Pink is the part of her that she has to repress. She then suddenly attacks the Gems, turning Amethyst, Garnet, and Pearl into slaves like Blue and Yellow. White says that she removed their flaws and that her white light is sparkling through them. She states that they are brilliant and that the flaws Steven caused them to have are gone, and they are perfect as her. Steven tries to tell her that they are perfect the way they are, but White says that Pink likes to surround herself with inferior gems so she can be the best of the worst. Steven says that it isn’t true and that even if it was, she’d be talking about his mom and not about Steven. White laughs at this and says "your mom", but Connie arrives and White makes Pearl attack her. Steven tries to help but White makes Garnet and Amethyst grab him. Pearl disarms and grabs Connie. Steven tells her to let Connie go, but White says that it must feel good to surround himself with lower life forms, blaming everything on someone else. She says that that was why he became Rose in the first place, in order to deceive his friends. Steven disagrees, saying that he isn’t Rose, but White points out that he knows things that he couldn’t possibly know if he wasn’t Pink. Steven says that he was just connecting with her, but White says that even though Pink took the form of Steven, her light is still shining through. She then picks Steven up, saying that it’s time to come out. She then removes his gemstone, which appears to reform, but whilst it shows the shapes of both Pink Diamond and Rose Quartz, ultimately the gemstone generates a holographic, seemingly emotionless Steven. When White questions where Pink is, the Gem Steven shouts "She's gone!" with such force that White is forced backward, then walks back towards his human half, which is severely weakened. It appears that neither of the two Stevens is complete without the other one. White and the Gems under her control try to stop the reunion, but Gem Steven creates a featureless, multi-faceted shield which blocks all of White Diamonds' attacks, then "pops", creating a powerful shockwave which forces everyone back. After Steven and the Gem Steven re-fuse, White Diamond angrily pounds her fists on the floor, stating that Steven should appear as Pink Diamond, that he is not half human, and that he is acting like a child. Steven retorts that he is a child, and asks what White's excuse is. Her and her slaves' cheeks turn pink, confusing White, and all the gems previously under her control return to normal. Bismuth, Lapis, and Peridot arrive with the intent to fight White but stop upon seeing the state that everyone is in. White asks herself what is happening, and she reaches out to Yellow and Blue. Both of them back away from her, saying that she is "off colored" after seeing her pink cheeks. White is startled, questioning if she is actually flawed. Steven tells her to let people be who they are and tells her that she can be what she wants to be. White says that she should know better, and that she should be better, and that she should make everything better. Steven says that she can, but she has to leave her own head. She then travels with Steven and the gems to Earth and witnesses the Off Colors arrive, meeting with the people of Beach City including Steven's father Greg Universe and Lion, and later helps cure all the Corrupted Gems. She then leaves Earth with Yellow and Blue, going back to Homeworld. Abilities White Diamond possesses standard Gem abilities, but since she is a Diamond, her abilities are expected to be much greater than that of other Gems. Unique Abilities * Aura Projection: The Diamonds can project an aura around them that they can control, they can either radiate it from their entire bodies or emit it from specific parts of their bodies, usually their hands. Not much has been shown of White nor her aura, but during the Diamonds' final attack against the Crystal Gems, White's aura was shown around her hand as a solid white corona-like flare around it. ** Corruption Induction: Though the attack was meant to destroy the Crystal Gems, it corrupted every single remaining Gem on Earth. *** Corruption Reversal: Along with Pink/Steven, Yellow and Blue, White has the ability to reverse the effects of the Corrupting Light on Gems. The four reversed the corruption using the water of Rose's Fountain in "Change Your Mind". ** Mind Control: By zapping another Gem's gemstone with a white ray of light, White Diamond removes that Gem's color, replacing it with a complete whiteness which spreads out from the gemstone and controls the affected Gem. Controlled Gems generally mimic White's movements, speech, and possibly state (a blush shown by White Diamond spread to all under her control), though she can also command them to perform specific actions or say certain things. Once released, Gems are disoriented and appear to have no memory of what happened or what they did whilst they were controlled: A controlled Pearl was still able to draw her (also colorless) Gem Weapon to fight Connie, but it is unclear if this is the Gem's individual weapon or a facsimile. A weakened emotional state may disrupt White's control; in "Change Your Mind", when Steven exposed a flaw in White Diamond, her control was undone when she realised this and blushed. It is unclear if this was a deliberate action on White's part, or an unconscious reaction. White Diamond states that controlling other gems involves "shining her light through them" and that she does not want to "spread herself too thin", implying a possible limit to the number of gems she can control at any given time. The ray can be blocked by Pink Diamond's Shield. *** Power Bestowal: When White Diamond takes control of a Gem, they can gain access to new abilities, such as transportation via a white bubble, intangibility, and can project her controlling light from their eyes. Relationships Great Diamond Authority In the recent "Change Your Mind" The Steven Universe Podcast, it is stated that White Diamond has a motherly role among the Diamonds and serves as a mother figure to the Diamonds and serves as an mother figure to the other ones. She didn't hesitate to control them with her powers when she considered them "flawed", but showed certain regret after the events. Yellow & Blue Diamond Yellow and Blue Diamond appear to fear White Diamond, describing her as difficult and temperamental to Steven and wishing to avoid telling her about Pink's true fate. Yellow believes that if she were to speak to White on Steven's behalf, that her reaction would not be so severe. Ultimately, White denies both of them entrance into her ship. Later, Yellow tells Steven that White "never lets anyone in" these days, and comments how unfair it is that he got to see her despite having only one failed colony, while White never speaks to Yellow anymore despite her hundreds of successful colonies. Blue speaks of how much fun the four Diamonds used to have together in the days when Pink was still with them, indicating that White used to be close to the other Diamonds and has grown distant since. Steven Universe Upon seeing Steven, White Diamond appears to believe he is Pink and calls to him endearingly with the nickname, "Starlight." He is frustrated by her unwillingness to listen, but Yellow tells him that this is normal behavior for White, so he tried to reach out to her again after making his way into her hand ship, but his efforts didn't pay off at first. When they meet face-to-face again though, White reveals herself to be the only Homeworld gem who sees Steven as distinct from his mother. She speaks to him as if he were merely a vessel and mouthpiece for Pink Diamond and not a true being at all, willing to forcibly remove his gemstone from his person in order to prove this. To her chagrin, White is wrong and tries to keep him and Pink's gem from reuniting with Steven. He later made her realize that she herself was flawed. She soon lets go of her obsession with perfection and accompanies Steven to Earth to heal all of the corrupted Gems. Pink Diamond White Diamond has had a relationship with Pink Diamond like that of a mother, giving her the endearing nickname "Starlight". She frequently played games with her, Blue, and Yellow, and attending the "massive" balls she held. However, she doesn't take Pink seriously and treats her like a child, including her actions on Earth as one of her "games". In 'Change Your Mind', White claims that she sees Pink the one who brings out the worst in other Gems, whereas she sees herself as the one who makes them better, but still wants Pink to "be herself". Despite this, White does express anguish at the revelation that releasing Steven's gem would never return Pink to her. Pink Pearl It was revealed that White Diamond took away Pink Diamond's Pearl because of Pink's behavior, controlling her in the process. White Diamond now owns her as her personal Pearl. The latter acts as her messenger, escorting Steven to her and then immediately left White's presence when she finishes her task. "White Pearl" attends the Era 3 Ball in "Together Alone" in place of her diamond, suggesting that White Diamond may use her pearl as her eyes and ears, later confirmed in "Change Your Mind". As Pink Pearl is no longer under the control of White, it is unknown if she will remain being White Diamond's Pearl. Connie Maheswaran Similarly with Steven, White Diamond is unwilling to let Connie leave Homeworld. When Connie enters White's ship, White remarks that Connie is another one of Steven's "pets" and mind controlls Pearl to fight her. After Steven calls out White for being childish, Connie laughs at her. Once White has released her control on the Gems she has mind controlled, Connie remarks to Amethyst that she thinks Steven got through to White. Trivia * The shape of White Diamond's hair-style gives the impression of a life-giving sun, symbolizing glory. * Though not properly named within the show, White Diamond's name is seen alongside the names of the other three Diamonds along with their specific themes.1* She has not been mentioned in the show by any character thus far. * White Diamond's mural suggests that she is the oldest of the Diamonds. ** She owned the most colonies at the time of Earth's colonization. ** The circular disk behind White Diamond's head appears to show her descending from the sky. ** She is the only Diamond to be portrayed as being completely symmetrical, which alludes to perfection and balance. * Prior to White Diamond's debut, a fan had met Patti LuPone after a performance of War Paint, a musical she starred in that was running on Broadway at the time. After complimenting her on her voice work as Yellow Diamond, Patti told the fan that Christine Ebersole, her co-star in the musical, was the voice actress for White Diamond. While never confirmed, it eventually proved to be true.3 * During San Diego Comic-Con 2018, Cartoon Network held a "3-D photobooth" for Steven Universe. When fans received their "3-D" image, a clip was attached at the end teasing White Diamond with a brief animation of her eyes blinking.4 * White Diamond is drawn in the style of the show's background art. * Rebecca Sugar took inspiration from the illustrations of Nell Brinkley when designing White Diamond. Gemology Gemstone Information * Diamond is the official modern birthstone for April, and it is also used as an official sixty-year anniversary gemstone. * Diamonds are the stone of truth and victory. ** It is associated with lightning and fearlessness, and for its properties of protection. ** The diamond, in its rarity and beauty, is a symbol of purity and innocence, love and fidelity, and embraces the strength of character, ethics, and faithfulness to oneself and others. * Diamond is the transparent, gemstone-quality crystalline form of carbon and it is indeed one of the hardest known natural substances on Earth. ** Diamonds' hardness is the result of adamant chemical bonds between the carbon atoms. ** There is no other gemstone in the same family as diamond, although there are a variety of very similar gemstones. ** Diamond is pure carbon and is chemically the same as graphite. * Traditional colorless or "white diamonds" are by far the most popular colored diamonds. ** Other diamond colors include pink, red, orange, blue, green, gray, and black. ** Specific colors will trade under specific names. * Diamond deposits are found worldwide. The most notable being Africa, Australia, and India. ** Approximately half of the world's diamonds come from Central and Southern Africa. ** Canada has recently become a main commercial source for fine white diamonds. Gemstone